Peerfit CEO Ed Buckley III (far right) says the latest $2.3 million in investor funding will help his startup reach a broader base of customers. In this recent photo taken at the Tampa Bay WaVE location in downtown Tampa, Buckley joins the leaders of three other startups that, like Peerfit, have relocated from Gainesville to seek greater business exposure in Tampa. [JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]

Times Staff Writer

Published June 13 2017

Updated June 13 2017

A health care startup launched in Gainesville that relocated to Tampa has received a fresh round of investor funding from some big names in the Tampa Bay business community.

Peerfit, a digital platform that makes it easy for insurance carriers, brokers and employers to offer boutique fitness classes to their clients and employees, recently closed on a $2.3 million bridge round.

Area investors in this round include Tampa Bay Lightning owner (and increasingly a backer of area startups) Jeff Vinik and Outback Steakhouse founder Chris Sullivan. Colliers International Florida executive chairman Lee Arnold, a longtime technology investor, led the round along with investors through Florida Funders' online investing platform and at the Lutz-based private equity firm known as PAR/ARK Applications.

Also contributing to the Peerfit round of funding are such industry veterans as Craig Hasday and Adam Okun, executives of New York City-based Frenkel Benefits, an employee benefit brokerage and benefit administration firm. Rich Gallun, co-founder and former CEO of Chicago-based bswift, an industry leader in cloud-based technology and services for employee health benefits, also invested. Bswift was acquired by Aetna in 2014. Joseph Hodges, founder and president of Tampa-based health care cost containment provider INETICO and Care Valet, backed Peerfit during the round, according to a press release.

In 2014, Peerfit was one of seven health care startups in Tampa to participate in the Healthbox startup accelerator, held at the Tampa Bay WaVE facility.

Since then, Peerfit founder and CEO Ed Buckley III has successfully sought funding for his startup, including a round in the fall of 2016 which he says enabled the business "to meet many of our sales goals quicker than anticipated." The latest bridge round of funding, Buckley stated, "will help us to carry forward our vision to redefine wellness for carriers and employers across the nation."

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